Cartref: Moving in a New Direction
3 September 2021
Over the past few years, both climate change and societal changes because of the Covid-19 pandemic has put added pressure on our water resources, meaning that becoming more water efficient has never been more important.
Currently, the average person in the UK uses around 150 litres of water a day. This may seem a lot, but just one toilet flush can use around 4 – 8 litres of water! Even more surprisingly, not everyone knows the ways in which they can save water.
Welsh Water’s Cartref project has been helping our customers in communities across our operational areas to understand their consumption habits and how they can make small savings in their homes, by offering the following free tools and services:
Fixing leaks
The Cartref project helps customers identify and fix leaks – this can be anything from a dripping tap to a leaky loo, which can waste around 12 litres an hour. Over a day this adds up to 288 litres – nearly 2 people’s average daily water usage.
We’ve set up an easy-to-use postcode checker, which allows you to see if your property falls into one of these areas, and if it does, our team can set up an appointment with one of our certified plumbers, completely free of charge.
As part of the service, a number of common leaks can be fixed completely free of charge. We’ll explain the types of repairs we can do when we meet. Even if the leak can’t be fixed by one of our plumbers, they can give you helpful tips and tricks on saving water and give details of a company who can help you further.
Water Saving Products & Get Water Fit calculator
If your property doesn’t fall into one of the areas we are working in, there are still steps you can take to start your water saving journey.
By answering a few simple questions about your water usage in the home on our Get Water Fit calculator, we can give you advice on simple changes that can be made to your day-to-day water usage. This service also gives you the opportunity to order free water saving products, that are quick and easy to install that can give you big savings on your water bill.
How are things changing?
While we will continue to help our customers make savings in their homes, over the coming months, the Cartref team will also be extending these services to a wider audience of non-household customers, including large employers, schools, and housing associations, starting in 3 areas: Dolgellau, Risca and Pontardawe.
We look forward to building important relationships with these groups, helping them to not only make valuable changes within their work or social environment, but also for these habits to be taken home, making as many of our customers as water efficient as possible.
Want to find out more? Head to cartref, to find out what we will be doing in Dolgellau, Risca and Pontardawe in the coming months. You can also get your hands on some free water saving products by using our Get Water Fit calculator here.